Councils face increasing pressure to not only improve service provision as citizen expectations rise, but also to deliver efficiencies against a backdrop of increasing demand. This is particularly true in adult social care.

Increasingly, councils are realising that care technology can be deployed to enable greater independence for citizens and save money by reducing care packages or delaying moves to residential care.

At PA Consulting, we are using care technology to deliver real benefits for people with learning disabilities in supported living. We have demonstrable evidence that when a thorough assessment of needs is undertaken, focusing on outcomes rather than simply installing standard packages of care, significant benefits can be achieved:

• Enhanced independence and quality of life (eg using memory aids and GPS trackers)

• Reduction in high-cost packages of care (up to £7,000+ per person per annum)

• Avoidance of increased care packages

• Helping providers to support individuals with complex needs whilst encouraging independence for those with low level needs

Our experience shows it is possible to deliver life-changing outcomes and maximise benefits by taking account of key lessons learnt:

• Early engagement and buy-in of all stakeholders are essential

• Identify and manage privacy, consent and ethical issues prior to installation

• Evaluate existing technologies and decide to replace or complement with additional technology; providing different, disconnected devices is confusing and counter-productive

• Review technology regularly – the pace of technological change creates obsolescence; the clunky pendant of yesterday is the wearable device of today

Deploying technology effectively can be the key to supporting change and releasing pressure on existing personal care solutions. If technology can enhance independence and reduce personal intrusion without increasing risk, it is worth exploring.

Society is already taking great strides to use personalised digital technologies in everyday life – from use of Alexa, virtual reality and wearable devices for fitness. People in supported living deserve to have the same level of access to technology and the opportunities it provides.

To find out more contact Harminder Sangha at Harminder.Sangha@paconsulting.com and Sean Hunt at Sean.Hunt@paconsulting.com – or visit our website www.paconsulting.com